The Queen's Undoing
by Lana Archer
Summary: Bonnie is a witch with a past shrouded in mystery. When Katherine Pierce discovers her and turns her, the two go on an epic journey pulling in the Salvatores, the Mikaelson and yes, even the Bennetts in their quest to survive another day. [Vitch Bonnie]. [Stefonnie]. [Batherine]
1. Chapter 1

**Note: **I've been planning this for a while now and have finally got an idea of where I'd like to take this, so I figured hey, why not post the first chapter up today and see what everyone thinks. Here's some slow-burn Stefonnie, reviews are bear hugs. XO (Also note, as much as I adore this pairing, this is a Bonnie story first and foremost)

* * *

**The Queen's Undoing**

Mystic Falls, Virginia

_Every woman has her limit. I had thought all this time that I'd reached mine when I became this monster; this unforgivable parasite that took without permission or remorse. She'd always said that I was destined for this; for greatness and her companionship and for longer than I had cared to live that's what we'd had. And it was wonderful, it was perfect. I'd found in her a family that had long ago abandoned me. But when we met him, it all changed. When we met him, my first instinct was to leave and never return – how else would he stay this perfect person? How else would that wondrous light in his leaf green eyes still sparkle with the glimmers of hope and youth? If we stayed we'd suck him dry like we did everything we came across. We'd take the very essence of him and suck it in through our teeth, all the grit, all the chewy beauty he possessed. All of him would be slaughtered at the altar of our insatiable appetites. And even he wouldn't be enough – not in that context, no. But as I watched him I came to understand that he in fact may very well be too much. His beauty was surpassed by his soul; I'd never seen anything quite like it in all my years. And there were so many of those. Too many of those. But he made me feel like I made sense outside of my own mind, my own worries, my own misgivings. He looked at me in a way that I never thought I'd want to be looked at, but once he had, no other expression on his face would ever suffice. And no other face could grasp my attention like his, hold me captivated the way he did. And yet the urge to flee remained prominent, I knew I wouldn't survive here, my identity, my true identity would have me killed. _

_Yet even so, my human visage was not conducive to his world either – how many more reasons did I need to leave? Because of my skin, my beautiful skin, the only thing Katherine would admit to envying of me, I was a target in the 'modern' world. So I hid behind yet another mask, I pretended to be my Maker's handmaiden; so that I could survive. So that I could see him, speak with him, run from him…kiss him._

_So that I could love him. But I'd always known, the second I first saw him, that one day I'd have to leave him. I just never expected the circumstances I would be under when we finally said goodbye._

* * *

**Who Goes There?**

**Circa 1864**

**Salvatore Estate**

"Mystery is a woman's greatest asset," Katherine was saying as they approached the large estate, "Consider this another layer through which to be seen and to see, another perspective with which to rule the world." That, Bonnie found, was always the problem with Katherine. She was so eloquent, so poised, so beautiful that murder seemed like a slight of hand, gorging herself on human blood seemed like high tea with a few select esteemed friends. She could convince just about any_one_ to do just about any_thing_. And on the rare occasion that she was politely rebuffed, she used compulsion, the dark sheen covering her eyes as she fed ruthlessly on the culprit to teach them a lesson even after she got her way. She had her rules and everyone else had to live by them.

"Remind me again why we're here in Virginia?" Bonnie complained with a delicate yawn, "I _loathe_ Americans, they have the foulest ideologies." Katherine hummed in agreement as she curled her finger through one of Bonnie's long chocolate ringlets that hung well below her waist.

"Klaus was picking up on our scent," Katherine reminded her prodigy, "We had no choice. And I know you'll have to pretend to be my handmaiden, but I promise I won't put you over my knee if you forget to press my dresses." The doppelgänger's smile was infectious. "This is all temporary, I just need to get this _one small thing_ then we flee. No one _has_ to get hurt." Bonnie gave her a stern look.

"You say that but we both know someone _always_ does." Katherine tilted her head to the side thoughtfully as the horses drew to a stop, halting their procession. "And though it's never us, I do worry about the mess we leave in our wake, it's hardly inconspicuous." Katherine leaned in then, affection glittering in her whiskey coloured eyes.

"My _sweet_ Bonnie," she began, "When will you see that everything outside of our world, anyone who crosses our path – they are meaningless to me and I treat them as such, as for our feeding habits while I must agree that I could be more discreet I will also never deviate from my nature which _is_ and always _has_ been –"

"–To conquer all." Bonnie finished for her. "I know Katerina, and I adore you for it. But my concern will never fade."

"Which is what I adore in _you_," Katherine said as she swooped up and ghosted her fingers over her own hair and face as if she were ever in a state other than perfection, "You keep me tethered to the Earth my dear child, without you I'm sure I wouldn't have had a life worth living." Bonnie found herself slowing that moment, savouring it. Katherine was never particularly emotive or empathetic so these simple words sent ripples throughout Bonnie's mind as she clung to them, scraps of affection that she would never admit to being starved of. Katherine had swept out of the carriage without another word or a backwards glance and Bonnie found herself happier still; another moment stewed in the lingering affections of Katerina Petrova. And as quickly as it came was Bonnie yanked up and out of her thoughts as she was called out to meet their new hosts – the Salvatores.

* * *

When father told me that we'd be having a new visitor, I hadn't expected what was presented to me that sweltering morning. Yes, Miss Katherine was incredibly beautiful, but her handmaiden that lay hidden under a plain cream bonnet, with hair longer than her mistress' was possibly the most beautiful creature I'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. Her face was heart-shaped and curved at every possible encounter, but her eyes –

"Stefan, where are your manners?" Giuseppe's voice cut through my thoughts like a bolt of lightning. I blushed, as if by instinct and diverted my attention to the lady who stood in front of me expectantly. Her eyes were wide and the loveliest mixture of brown with flecks of honey in them. Her olive skin and brown tresses should have had me swooning, and they might have, if I hadn't just caught a full glimpse of the handmaiden's face – she was truly exquisite.

"Stefan Salvatore." I said, my voice low and humble, yet admittedly distracted.

"Katherine Pierce." the woman replied and I smiled.

"Welcome." I said, with the proper gentlemanly flourish I had learned from my father when we were amongst guests of high society. "I hear you'll be staying with us for some time, allow me to show you to your room."

"Where will my lady be staying?" Katherine enquired and I faltered, looking back to my father, "She is of the highest value to me, I trust that she'll be looked after sufficiently?"

"Of course Miss Pierce." I replied easily, although, I myself had no way to guarantee this. Just then my father swept up to her, his blue eyes bright and his face as welcoming as I've ever seen it.

"She will most certainly be placed in suitable quarters, and once you're all settled in and well acquainted we'll all sit down for dinner." Katherine's face lit up like he'd just handed her the world on a silver platter.

"Mister Salvatore, you are as kind as you are handsome," she said and I could have sworn I saw a flush of colour permeate his cheek, quick as a snap of fingers, "I'll take my leave now, dearest Bonnie and I have been travelling for what seems to be years on end."

"Of course," I said, "Let me show you to your room." Bonnie, her name was _Bonnie_.

* * *

Bonnie Bennett has seen many things in her life. She'd seen innards wrapped around the remaining corpses like garish ribbons. Shredded sinew, burst vessels in eyes, jagged bones, fingertips pressed into throats, squeezing, taking…yet the most horrifying thing she'd seen to date had been the direct gaze of one Stefan Salvatore. His eyes weren't nearly as green as hers, his skin wasn't nearly as perfectly olive as Katherine's but his heartbeat, his mouth, his hair…his arms, his teeth, the way he stood, the way he'd glanced at her like he was sneaking something precious right under the nose of its owner, every facet of him called to her in a way blood never dared.

"Bonnie dear?" Katherine called as she stepped into Bonnie's quarters, Katherine scanned the room quickly and the corner of her mouth turned down in distaste. "But a few weeks my love," she reminded her progeny, "Then we'll have what we need and leave."

"A few weeks? What on Earth for? I thought this was a week-long lapse of judgement?" Katherine smiled warmly.

"It's the boy, there's something about him." Bonnie swallowed back her horror. No, not him. He was too good for them.

"There's _always_ something about 'him'," she replied easily, her features serene and indifferent, "And it always ends the same way. With _him_ dead." She fiddled with her pendant for a moment before dropping into the valley of her dress. It was her most treasured possession, the green of the emerald echoing the colour of her eyes perfectly. She'd had it longer than she'd had Katherine and that meant no one got near it, let alone saw it. "Katherine, I –"

"We'll do the locator spell as soon as I have enough blood for you and then, if he is susceptible to my charms…" her smile was slick and beautiful, "We bring him with us."

"You mean to _turn_ him?" Bonnie hissed lowly, shocked. Katherine shrugged daintily, her smile still a mile wide.

"The more I think about it the more I know he'd be perfect for it, with that face, emboldened by darkness, couldn't you just _picture_ it?" Bonnie's eyes widened a little at the faraway look on her Maker's face.

"I can picture it clearly." Bonnie admitted, having the foresight to keep her tone neutral and typically indifferent. Truthfully, she had no claim over him or his destiny, which is not to say she'd be passive about her influence thereof…but, going against Katerina Petrova over some sweet-faced country-boy? Even newborns had more sense in them than that. "There is the matter of his brother however." Bonnie continued, fiddling with the fabric of her skirt. Katherine pursed her lips thoughtfully; they'd both seen the photographs gracing the walls and table tops as they were shown around the Manor – the older brother was handsome too, of course, but his presence lacking meant they couldn't simply compel the father and leave…too many loopholes there.

"His brother is irrelevant." Katherine dismissed. "We'll deal with the other Salvatore when he returns."

"Which is when…exactly?" Bonnie pressed with a quirk to her brow. Katherine huffed and shrugged daintily, pressing her lips together.

"Who knows?" She practically yawned, "But until then I am on blood-scavenging duty and _you_, my sweet," her eyes glittered, "Are ordered to do as little as possible to keep your strength up. Okay?" Bonnie smiled, reluctantly, but smiled all the same.

"Yes…_mother_." She teased with a small grin before turning serious. "There is ample presence of magic in this area, it should be easy for me to draw on its essence if need be." Katherine's smile was contagious.

"Perfect," The Maker cooed, "You'll be unstoppable."

* * *

**Hello Little Witch**

**Circa 1600**

Bonnie Bennett was no ordinary vampire.

After Katherine herself turned into a member of the undead in her rebellion against Klaus' efforts she made her life's work to protect herself from him by any and every means possible. This led her to discover the truth behind the _Legend of the Undead Witch_. There were whispers of a young Bennett witch, so powerful that after spending her life on the run from covens hoping to use her or make her the High Priestess, she cast a protection spell and managed to cocoon herself in a shell of power and immortality since the tenth century, hidden in the ample forests of the Southern Hemisphere. Katherine sought her ought, as a means of protection and one fateful day, stumbled across the very tomb after years of searching.

A simple caress to the smooth, shell surface of the magic coffin damn near burnt Katherine's skin off, but she persevered with a defiant hiss.

"_Wake up_…" She cooed, leaning in, just stopping short before her skin met with the surface, "Wake _up_ little witch." She tilted her head curiously at the object, inlaid with vines, blossoms and a flurry of insects. "I hear you've been running," she spoke casually, trying to see through the purple colour in vain, "So have I, and it because of this that I know I can give you _one thing_ you're desperately craving now…a family." Katherine's wicked gaze grazed over the egg-like cocoon in front of her. "I can give you that," she went on sweetly, "I can be your family." She was lying through her teeth; anyone who'd been in her company longer than a minute could have told you that. But she needed this witch; she needed this immortal child to side with her so that she could live out the century. "And I can promise you this; because there is nothing more I want for myself." Her eyes narrowed as impatience flashed through her. She pursed her lips as she glared down at the impossible tomb. As she was about to slam her fist down on the thing a single crack ran down the centre of it. The fissure spread and branched out, a golden light bleeding through the openings. Katherine didn't bother hiding her astonishment. A loud whirring began, quickly building to the scream of a siren and the brunette vampire fell over, mouth wide, head spinning with an indescribable pain that left her winded and writhing. Katherine could do no more than watch as the cocoon fell apart and a small body emerged, covered in a thick, golden fluid that fell off of her body, finding no purchase on her smooth skin. The only thing the witch wore was a shimmering gold necklace with an emerald charm hanging between her breasts. Katherine blinked stupidly as the girl's features came into focus and the witch took in her surroundings and the numb vampire before looking down at herself.

"Won't do." The witch muttered musically and not a second later was she housed in a dress much like Katherine's, but where the vampire's was a powdery blue colour, the witch chose a forest green hue. Complimenting her malachite eyes. Waving a hand over her person, she dried and curled her hair; adding in small flowers here and there, swept a touch of colour to her mouth and cheeks. She was **beautiful**. "Who are you?" Katherine gagged at the magic still burning through her veins. "_Oh_," The witch gasped, "Apologies." The magic ebbed out of the vampire and the doppelgänger gasped, shooting upright with a small scowl etched onto her forehead. "Safety." The witch shrugged, "I'm sure you understand." Katherine pursed her lips, admittedly impressed but refused to comment.

"I am Katherine Pierce." She responded and the witch's eyes lit up.

"That is a beautiful name." She replied, "Mine is Bonnie."

"Bonnie?" Katherine echoed, "And what of your family name?"

"I have none." The witch replied, "As you know."

"Yes but even orphans had a mother and father at some point, a legacy?"

"This one does not." Bonnie replied easily.

"You're exceptionally powerful." The vampire noted. Bonnie smiled.

"As are _you_ Miss Petrova." Katherine's brows lifted. "I know too much for my own good." She went on. "Cursed, I call it."

"_Blessed_ is what it is." Katherine countered pointedly, "So how much do you know?" Bonnie pressed her mouth together, amusement glittering in her eyes.

"I know that you think you lied to me about wanting to be a family together, but you _do_. I know your every intention with me…and I must warn you, most, if not all of it, will soon lean to my favour." Katherine narrowed her eyes. "I am the most powerful witch this world knows of, you'd do well to remember that upon your resurrection of me."

"Is that a threat?" Bonnie shook her head sweetly.

"It's a reminder of your responsibility to me." Bonnie said, "I am yours now, as much as you are mine. We _are_ family. I've seen it." Katherine had absolutely no idea what to make of her.

"I…"

"You weren't expecting this I know," Bonnie finished for her, "But then again, you did believe rather easily that with the flourish of a well-told lie that I would be your blind minion." Bonnie's smiling eyes dared the vampire to deny it. "All things considered you're quite out of your depths here." Katherine sneered and before she could think of rushing forward she was inched backwards – roughly. Bonnie's face remained serene.

"Then why even come out of your tomb?" The vampire wondered.

"I've slept too long," the witch admitted, "Besides, I happen to like you." Katherine frowned prettily. "It's true, from what I've learned about you in the last while," she leaned forward a little then, "_And I've learned everything there is to know about you_," she grinned, "I can safely say that you should be the one to wake me."

"So you'll come with me then?" Katherine wondered? "You'll help me?"

"I shall," Bonnie replied happily, "On one condition," Katherine would have promised her anything at this point. "You turn me into a vampire." The vampire's mouth fell open.

"Absolutely _not_!" She yelped. Bonnie smiled. Everything was falling into place already.

* * *

**Stay excellent**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: **I took my time, I know. (I also didn't edit, silly me)

* * *

**The Queen's Undoing**

**Circa 1600**

"Are you certain?" Bonnie's quirked brow irked Katherine, who had been so sure up until now that she had some sliver of control over the situation. "I'm sure you've realised that I am not without foresight." Katherine sneered prettily, a soft snorting sound at the odd witch's odder choice of wording.

"You're awfully arrogant for a witch willing to give up her powers, knowing that we'd both need them to survive if you and I were to be _family_." Bonnie's smile was patient and affectionate as she took a slow step towards the vampire.

"Who said anything about relinquishing my power?" Bonnie's face was amused and …slightly condescending if Katherine wasn't mistaken. "How utterly absurd." Katherine gritted her teeth and lifted her brows, urging the other woman to explain herself. "I am no ordinary witch, I…" Bonnie averted her eyes for a split second before locking in on Katherine with an emerald infused intensity, "I have certain abilities granted to me and to me alone."

"Please," Katherine said with a gracious wave of an impatient hand, "_Do_ go on." Bonnie's eyes tightened around the corners but she acquiesced, as best as she could.

"I am able to draw and release magic." Bonnie said with a perfunctory nod of her head as she replayed her own definition, "I can bleed it out of myself as well as siphon it from other sources." Katherine frowned at her.

"Are you saying…" A forefinger rose up in the space between them, "Are you saying that you could, for all intents and purposes, put your magic within another object and channel it to cast spells even as a member of the undead?" Bonnie nodded easily.

"Among other things." Bonnie responded, "But in this matter, yes, you would be correct." Katherine remained suspicious and cautious, and it warmed Bonnie fractionally. "I've seen it Katherine, you and I, vampires, me, keeping you safe from whoever tries to hurt you. You become my family."

"Exactly how far into the future have you seen?" Katherine pressed and Bonnie exhaled, sifting through the years of information she'd catalogued and assessed upon their introduction. There was admittedly only so much before it all tapered off into a blinding question mark but everything that came before was enough to assure Bonnie that this, this woman in front of her was everything she needed to return to her purpose. She could be a protector. She didn't have to remain what she was, Katherine was what she needed and that meant she was willing to become a vampire. That meant that she was willing to become a mixture of what she was and what Katherine is.

"I've seen enough to know what I can protect you beyond my human years," Bonnie said, "Because of what I am, I can give you what you need longer than you expected. I can protect you for as long as it takes if you turn me." Bonnie clasped her hands in front of her, the picture of innocence and wild beauty, something Katherine was sure people usually saw in her. Which fuelled her persistent wariness, _she_ shouldn't be trusted, so she knew neither should Bonnie. "We do have a lot in common," Bonnie admitted, tapping a finger to the side of her temple once, "We both lost our families, we've both been deserted by the very same people we mourn and we've both had to live a half-life in the hopes of having any life at all."

"You realise what you're asking of me, don't you?" Katherine pressed, merely to stall. She had to consider a lot of information in a very short space of time. "You know of bloodlust surely?" Bonnie chuckled softly as she walked over to a worn-looking tree, caressing its bark; every touch stitching together the rubbery speckled surface. "You know you'll need a ring to walk in the light?"

"I won't, in fact," Bonnie said, assured with her knowledge thereof, "And though my bloodlust will prove to be a concern it is nowhere near as problematic as yours." Her eyes wandered up and around them, as if she only just realised they were outside, in the heart of a decadent forest, thrumming with life and air, and her own magic, percolating within their immediate surroundings. "Though we both know the root of your ruthlessness." Her eyes landed back on Katherine, "I know you don't trust me much yet and that faith is ridiculous notion to you, but I promise you, do this for me, and everything I've seen; everything I'll do to protect you, your survival, it will all go as is fated. You will survive this curse on your blood and you will have a family once more; one that will remain loyal to you and your love." Bonnie smiled then, "And you will love again Katerina, believe that."

**Circa 1864**

Throughout their years together, Katherine had never once inquired as to when exactly Bonnie's human insight into their future had tapered off. It was curious indeed how 'death' had removed her future from her own equations. She couldn't look into her proverbial third eye anymore when it came to her own destiny, and unfortunately for Katherine, whose life was intertwined with her own, her future too, had dissipated, evaporating to a fine mist that Bonnie ran her fingers through as often as she could to maintain their lead in the never ending game of hide and seek with Klaus.

Bonnie realised rather belatedly that the road they'd travelled onto the Salvatore estate had been her final look into her future all those years ago. There was nothing particularly novel about the final frame of the montage of their lives in her mind's eye. A simple uneven russet pathway framed with luscious trees, trunks like long necks, bending as if in polite greeting. The carriage door's window like a lens into the outside world; the click-clack of the horses' hooves as they approached the Manor. Bonnie realised as she wandered around the estate while Katherine and the Salvatores had their dinner, that their future was now precarious at best. Their journey truly began now. The last two hundred and some years has been a breeze; they'd followed the template of Bonnie's visions to a tee. They'd avoided conflict and managed to evade Klaus like she'd promised without compromising the life that Katherine had come to love so dearly.

Bonnie hummed tunelessly to herself as she wandered the estate, her eyes scouring the manicured lawn; it's blossoming flowers, its perfect jade colouring. The hybrid walked up to a selection of roses, dropping to her haunches in a cloud of the pooling fabric of her dress, to cradle one particular bud. Its vivid yellow pigment enchanted her somewhat; the way only nature ever could and she tilted her head as a melody fell softly from her lips. Her humming became musical, lilting as she curled her fingers underneath the plant; coaxing its natural energy to the surface. The already vibrant colour began to shine and shimmer and she smiled; pleased. Lifting herself upright she continued her trek throughout the gardens.

Oh sure, she'd been introduced to the _help_ within the halls of the Manor. They'd eyed her out suspiciously, due to her attire, which they deemed highly inappropriate no doubt, considering her social standing in modern society. She'd never cared much for human politics but it did seem wasteful to have to power she did and to be simultaneously passive about certain…indelicacies. So she did what she always did; she used her magic to tweak a few things. For example, she saw nothing wrong in fiddling with Giuseppe's mind to convince him that the word 'slave' was demeaning and improper and he should be ashamed of himself for indulging such a lifestyle when the human race clearly had more important matters to discuss.

The workers' had been presented with two options before dinner; one, they could leave and return to their families with a healthy sum of money or remain at work with an impressive increase in their wages as well as their quality of life. Bonnie liked to think that she was slowly but surely making a difference everywhere she went. Anyone who questioned her or worse…Well, they were lucky enough to have two beautiful women accompanying them into their hopefully miserable afterlife. Katherine abhorred slavery as well, jarring considering how ruthless she could be when it came to matters of blood and violence but her response was always the same. "I feed on villains, Bonnie, murderers, to me it realigns the food chain, evens it out, I'd happily starve to death if all that was left in this world was its purity. Wouldn't you?" Her jilted morals had taken some getting used to but the transition was smoothed over when Bonnie was reminded how firm Katherine was in her convictions.

Treating someone as though they were somehow less than because of their skin? Katherine would skin you alive. Simple. Bonnie was no better, she'd happily rearrange your insides with a nifty spell than allow the injustice to thrive. A willing handmaiden was one thing, but the mistreatment of thousands to will your flailing nation into 'prosperity'? Bonnie's thoughts cut off as she spun around, her hearing picking something up. Her eyes widened as she watched Stefan come into view. Her instinct sent her feet backwards some, only slowing when he stopped short at the sight of her.

"Forgive me, I didn't –" Bonnie waved him off.

"It's me who should be apologising," Bonnie reasoned, "I'm sure that if anyone is to walk around this estate aimlessly, it is one of its heirs." He smiled timidly at her then, averting his eyes, only to have them return to her face not a moment later.

"Be that as it may, it is only proper to give a lady a tour as a form of welcome." Bonnie tilted her head thoughtfully to the side, her smile framed with her corkscrew curls and expressive arched brows.

"I'm sure you were moments from attending to matters far more important than that." Stefan clasped his hands behind his back as he slowly closed the space between the two of them.

"I assure you," he said as he stood about a metre from her, "There is little more important to a gentleman than his manners."

"A gentleman?" Bonnie wondered as she took a step to the left, looking at him from the side, taking another step, keeping her eyes on him over her shoulder as he watched her intently, "What a rare breed." She frowned gently then. "Shouldn't you be having dinner?"

"I was actually sent to seek you out to join us on my father's request." Stefan explained, "But as I can see now, you are at peace out here, and the image of it all becomes you; all the colours behind and beneath you…I wouldn't dare inconvenience you with a dull dinner."

"What if I'm hungry?" She wondered.

"Then I'll escort you back to the main house immediately." Stefan assured her, "The choice is yours." She took a few more steps, around him, smiling when he craned his neck to see her before they both turned to face one another.

"A dull dinner or a tour of the gardens with a gentleman?" She tapped her index finger against her chin pretending to think it over for a moment. "…Are there any tulips?"

"Quite a few," he said coming to stand next to her, "Shall we?" He asked with an incline of his head. Nodding she started to walk ahead of him.

"Let's start with the tulips then." She decided, "They're my favourite."

* * *

"I find it unlikely that your son will be returning anytime soon. My Bonnie is rather fond of the outdoors, and he seems far too kind to deter her from her evening walk."

"I'm sure you're correct Miss Katherine." Giuseppe said with a flourish and a mile wide smile. "There has been very little I've been able to contest you on, since your arrival."

"Call it a woman's intuition." Katherine said with a giggle. "It is rare enough indeed for a woman to be heard on her own opinion, and rarer still that she should be found incorrect."

"You certainly are something else, my lady." Giuseppe said as he placed her wine glass next to her at the table before seating himself across from her. "How did joy ever find my days before your arrival?"

"That's no longer something we'll need to concern ourselves with, only ever the here and now good sir." He beamed and missed her flicker of disgust as it danced over the top of her lip before they took a sip of their drinks.

* * *

"I find it impossible that someone as interesting as you could ever be so young." Stefan said with a smile, still chuckling from her previous remark.

"Says the boy who is only a year my senior." Bonnie reminded him. "I doubt I'm interesting, it's only that you've never met someone like me. There is a difference." She said with a raised finger.

"Untrue." He said, remaining determined to profess his awe. "I doubt there is anyone else like you this world has ever seen."

"This world has certainly seen some things." Bonnie muttered, her beautiful jade eyes suddenly cast downward. "And so have I, I suppose that accounts for some of my wisdom." Stefan frowned at her momentary sadness, deciding then and there that someone like Bonnie, someone who walked with such grace and held so much adventure in her eyes, deserved only ever to feel joy. When she lifted her gaze to him, that intention must have manifested into an earnest gaze that made her falter, if only for an instant. "Careful Stefan Salvatore, looking as enamoured as you only leads to trouble."

"Forgive me, Father always says I wear my expression too plainly." He looked ahead of himself to hide a blush Bonnie could smell permeating his skin. "Something about hiding my emotions has never appealed to me however, it leads to too many falsehoods. If I feel something, I'd rather be honest with that than hide it and never know the paths I could have ventured down had I stayed true to my intent."

"I feel this may be your very own version of rebellion, Stefan. And I wholly approve. Staying to true to your impulses, regardless of what comes of them – this is the kind of honesty we as a people deserve. For only then, when we accept that accountability roars in tandem with intent will we ever understand what drives us to be who we are." She turned to him with a dazzling smile, her breath hitching as she heard his heart hiccupping. "Wouldn't you agree?" He blinked stupidly before nodding.

"How ever could I disagree?" He said. Bonnie laughed. "I'm glad we decided not to dine with my Father. I fear the disastrous alternative that our conversation would have been inundated with had I not been honoured with your undivided attention."

"Well, it surely would have taken me longer to become fond of your bashfulness." Bonnie noted, cheekily. She knew she was treading on the thinnest ice, what with the knowledge that Katherine intended to turn Stefan – someone far too pure for a life that made the worst of even the best parts of any soul. The unfettered violence of thirst could invert everything sacred about any one person, and Bonnie couldn't stomach the idea of Stefan's countenance being subjected to a life such as hers. Where your morals were constantly contested with your very survival – twisting any principle you may have had at the altar of your promised eternity.

"I am only bashful in the face of true beauty and intelligence it seems. Before this, I will have you know, I was eloquent, well-read and charming. Now I'm a mumbling mess."

"I like either version." Bonnie decided with a demure shrug. "There is a time and place for a shift in power, even in ourselves. There is a time for me to be a force to be reckoned with, and there is a time, such as now, for me to blend in with the roses and be nothing but a softness resting against the pigments of the petals."

"I demand more of your time, manners be damned." Stefan burst out suddenly, causing them both to laugh as they stopped to turn to face one another – having completed a tour of the estate as promised.

"My time is yours to have, on one condition," she held up a finger as he was about to commit to an agreement he had yet to even hear, "Before you say yes," she smiled, "I want you to listen to me and understand me."

"Of course." He vowed.

"I want you to wear this," As if the object was spoken into being, Stefan observed in muted anxiousness, as a thin thread woven in with some sort of herb appeared in her extended hand. She twisted her wrist until a wink of a glittering sheen from a crystal caught his eye. "It is very important to me," she said with a faraway look in her eyes before she looked back up at him. "And I feel as though it's been waiting to be worn by you, Stefan. If anything, it will help to tide you over until we speak again." She watched as he delicately reached for the item, twirling it between his deft fingers as a smile blossomed across his face. "…What do you think?"

"I," he hesitated, "I think that it should be me who is giving you something to think of me while we're apart."

"Isn't it more fitting that we keep breaking rules, even the smallest ones, with one another?" Bonnie questioned. Stefan looked down at her, his smile seemingly endless.

"Never before has rebellion seemed more appealing to me." He said seriously. "I want to spend however long we have, redefining the way of the world as we know it." Bonnie inclined her head, and he hurriedly did the same. She began to turn slowly, but slowed to look at him over her shoulder.

"Then that is what we shall do, the minute we're alone again." With that, she walked off to her and Katherine's end of the estate, forcing herself not to look back at the boy whose heart was thudding so loudly that she imagined it was racing for the both of them.

* * *

When Bonnie found herself standing in front of Katherine's bedroom door, she could feel her dead heart had swollen uncomfortably in her chest, and there was only one thing she could do to put herself out of her misery.

"Come in, my darling." Katherine called out, lazily. Bonnie stepped inside and took in their surroundings. Katherine had this elegance that rippled outward and the vampire had somehow managed to turn her basic quarters to a silk-laden boudoir. "Look at all this fabric Giuseppe just had lying around." She smiled as she rose to greet Bonnie. "There's enough to make us an entire armoire of new dresses!" She clapped her hands together and pouted. "But you didn't come here to celebrate couture with me."

"Katherine, I –"

"You're besotted with the boy." The Petrova vampire finished the sentence.

"Yes." Bonnie hung her head in shame. Katherine took a moment to take in the woman before her. A friend she'd had for lifetimes now, a girl in a thousand ways, but a fierce dragon in a thousand others. And above all that, Katherine knew to her core, Bonnie was in so many ways the daughter she'd been robbed of. A fleeting want in the face of the first desire her childe had shown for something was laughable. Katherine was selfish, but she knew when to put something ahead of her own wants to guarantee her happiness. And her happiness weighed very heavily on Bonnie's – something she would never openly admit to. Bonnie was and always would be the deciding factor in every decision Katherine stood to make. With that in mind, and a small smile quirking her bottom lip, the whiskey-eyed vampire ghosted to Bonnie and cupped the Vitch's cheek.

"My darling, I've waited years for your heart to yearn for something – whatever stands in the way of what you want will have _me_ to deal with. You concern yourself with your own happiness for a change, you've more than earned it." Her grip tightened infinitesimally and her eyes hardened. "And the next time you want something you tell me. I want you to remember this – there is nothing on this Earth that you allow to stand in the way of your heart, understood?" Bonnie nodded, a happy tear glittering in the corner of her eye, before slipping free down the contour of her cheek. "We will do more than survive, you and I. From now on, we thrive."

"We thrive." Bonnie echoed. Blinking stupidly as Katherine kissed her forehead.

"Go to bed, Bonnie-dear. We have work to do in the morning."

* * *

**A/N: It has been a while – for this story, as well as my general presence in the FF Universe. I hope I haven't missed the mark for your interest in this. Reviews would be wonderful, and may very well spur on my muse. Thank you for the initial response to this, it really warmed my heart.**

**Stay excellent.**


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